Sir Keir Starmer has announced £21.7 billion of funding for 2 carbon capture projects in Teeside and Merseyside over 25 years
The projects will capture and store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen production, creating thousands of jobs, attracting £8 billion of private investment, and accelerating the UK towards net zero in 2050.
The announcement comes at the same time as Britain became the first industrialised nation to end its 150-year usage of coal.
Speaking at a glassmaking factory in Cheshire, Sir Keir said: “For our energy intensive industries like glassmaking here, or cement, or steel, or ceramics, you are familiar with these, the security that the future belongs to them.
“That the necessary mission of decarbonisation does not mean de-industrialisation. This if you like, is the politics of national renewal in action.”
CCUS technology
The UK has enough capacity to store 200 years’ worth of emissions, and will be among the first to deploy the carbon capture technology.
CCUS technology removes CO2 emissions before it reaches the atmosphere and stores it beneath the seabed.
CCUS has been endorsed as a critical tool in decarbonisation by the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Emma Pinchbeck, Energy UK’s Chief Executive, said:
“CCUS is a tool in our armoury of technologies which we need to decarbonise parts of energy that we currently can’t do with clean electricity, such as major industrial processes.
“The energy transition is gathering pace, and the development of CCUS here for industrial processes unlocks inward investment, creates jobs and helps areas with a proud history of engineering and industry pioneer the technologies of the future in the UK.”
The announcement comes 10 days before the government’s set-piece International Investment Summit which is set to put the UK back at the global table.
‘Reigniting our industrial heartlands’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We’re reigniting our industrial heartlands by investing in the industry of the future.
“For the past 14 years, business has been second-guessing a dysfunctional government – which has set us back and caused an economic slump.
“Today’s announcement will give industry the certainty it needs – committing to 25 years of funding in this groundbreaking technology – to help deliver jobs, kickstart growth, and repair this country once and for all.”
Clean energy revolution
The carbon capture projects will help remove over 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year – the equivalent of taking around 4 million cars off the road.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “On Monday, 150 years of coal in this country came to an end. Today, a new era begins.
“By securing this funding, we pave the way for securing the clean energy revolution that will rebuild Britain’s industrial heartlands.
“I was proud to kickstart the industry in 2009, and I am even prouder today to turn it into reality. This funding is a testament to the power of an active government working in partnership with businesses to deliver good jobs for our communities.”
Create thousands of jobs
The two sites will create 4,000 jobs and supporting 50,000 jobs.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, said: “This game-changing technology will bring 4,000 good jobs and billions of private investment into communities across Merseyside and Teesside, igniting growth in these industrial heartlands and powering up the rest of the country.
“Working in partnership with business is at the heart of our plan to deliver strong growth and investment, so we can rebuild Britain and make everyone better off.”
The carbon capture projects are expected to start storing carbon from 2028.
